Baba Weddings

Post Date : 21 January, 2010

A Phuket traditional Baba styled wedding is a ceremony which brings happiness and joy for the parents and family of the bride and groom. Its also an occasion to present the familys social status.

The Baba term is used for descendents of the earliest Hokkien Chinese immigrants in Phuket. The traditional Baba Wedding ceremony is rare to see nowadays. Phuket adapted this culture from Penang and Malaysia and combined it into Thai traditions. On such an auspicious day, the firecrackers are loud in every procedure of the ceremony. The loud noise is believed to bring about prosperity and fortune. The ceremony begins from the grooms family. In the morning, the groom family perform a ceremony to pay respect to God and sacred items, indicating that the auspicious ceremony is about to take place. The groom makes a journey to see the bride at auspicious time. The grand procession is warmly accompanied by family and friends of the groom. The bride anxiously waits at her bridal chamber.

The groom must go through the silver and gold barrier before he is allowed to meet his bride. After that the couple perform a tea ceremony or Phang Teh, offering tea to parents and senior relatives. The senior family members then give wishes and give out gifts for the couple to build up their own family. The Phuket Chinese Baba couple are in their glamorous costumes. The groom puts on a western suit influenced through Chinese migrants. The Baba Chinese bride Nyonya costume consists of a beautiful embroidered white blouse with standing collar, worn with Pateh sarong. The calflength gown is worn on top. The brides hair is styled in a high bun and decorated with handmade flower. Turtle shaped chest brooch is put on. The bride also wears several necklaces. According to Phuket custom, the new couple go pay respect and seek blessings from Chinese shrines such as the Pud Jo shrine. The couple then return to the grooms residence to perform a ceremony to worship god, spirit & ancestors to inform that they have married. In the evening, celebrations, mostly in western style, take place. The western celebrations are now carried out at auspicious events in Phuket.

ที่มา : Tourism Thailand